How to get a Verified badge for your dealership

July 19, 2017

By Jim Jabaay

Verifying your local business page (your dealership page) adds a layer of legitimacy to your social media presence can help customers feel more confident when they engage with your dealership on Facebook and increases your page’s visibility in search results.

What is a verified page, you ask? For a local business page like a dealership, the verification symbol is a gray check mark located on the right side of the business name.

What is the purpose?

Obtaining a Verified Page badge helps a page show up higher in search results and attract more visitors. If you see a gray badge on a page, it means that Facebook confirmed that this is an authentic page for this business or organization. Below, you can see that Facebook approved the verification of the LotVantage business page (YAY!).

If you see a blue badge on a page or profile, it means that Facebook confirmed that this is the authentic page or profile for this public figure, media company or brand. Keep in mind that not all public figures, celebrities and brands on Facebook have blue badges.

Note that it is not possible to purchase either type of verified badge – helping to make the process authentic.

How to verify a dealership page

If your page’s category is Local Business, Company or Organization, your page is likely to be eligible for a gray Verification badge .

Note that you must be an admin of your page in order to start the process and your page must have a profile picture and a cover photo.

In order to verify your page, you have two options: Use your business’s publicly listed phone number or a business document.

To verify your page, follow these steps:

Click Settings at the top of your page

From General, click Page Verification

Click Verify this Page, then click Get Started

Enter a publicly listed phone number for your business, your country and language

Click Call Me Now to allow Facebook to call you with a verification code

Enter the four-digit verification code and click

If you don’t have a publicly listed phone number, you must use a business document that has the name and address of your business listed on the document. If you are verifying your page with a business document, as discussed, follow the steps above and click Verify this Page with documents instead – this can be located at the bottom left of the window that appears. Upload a picture of an official document showing your business’s name and address.

Approved documents are:

Business utility or phone bill

Business license

Business tax file

Certificate of formation

Articles of incorporation

You will need to upload a digital version of one of these documents showing your business or organization’s name and address. This helps Facebook confirm that your dealership is authorized representative of itself – they’re basically making sure you are who you say you are.

What’s next?

After Facebook receives the verification code or business document, they review your information to confirm that it matches public records. Lastly, Facebook will send you a notification or email about your verification status within a few days.

The benefits of Verifying your local business page

The main benefit of the verification checkmark is that it will signify to Facebook users and potential customers that your Facebook page is legitimate. If an unauthorized person creates an imposter page for your business, the lack of this badge will signal to Facebook users that the page may not be authentic. Beyond legitimacy, verification also provides implied endorsement and stature from Facebook.

While it is reported that it is not possible to measure the impact of a gray badge directly, there are some benefits you’ll notice right away:

The gray badge adds instant credibility to your business page.

Users and potential customers will know they’re getting updates directly from your business rather than from an unofficial source.

If users want to talk directly to your business about complaints, service requests, coupons and general customer service, they’ll know they’re in the right place.

Jim Jabaay is the vice president of LotVantage, a digital marketing company for dealerships and original equipment manufacturers. LotVantage specializes in posting dealer inventory to Craigslist, eBay and driving engagement on social media on behalf of their customers. Visit lotvantage.com or call 1-888-569-3865.